Supervisory Audiologist - Assistant Chief

Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent employees of VA Boston Healthcare System only. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

Supervisory Audiologist in this assignment serves as assistant chief. Assistant chief in this assignment serves as full assistant to a service chief, share the full scope of delegated managerial responsibilities, and serve as the acting service chief in the absence of the service chief. They make decisions affecting staff and other resources. They may be delegated full administrative and clinical responsibility for planning and directing the staff assignments in various clinical settings. They encourage professional development, create an environment of learning and serve as a mentor to staff audiologists. Assistant chiefs are responsible for the supervision, administrative management, and direction of the program services assigned to them. Assistant chiefs may ensure compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements, monitor staff performance, and develop and implement programs based on Veterans' needs and current research findings.

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Resolving staff conflicts that might interfere with the service delivery.
• Identifying continuing education and training needs; and other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied.
• Interview candidates for positions, and recommend appointments, advancements, or disciplinary actions when appropriate.
• Develop position descriptions and functional statements and are responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area.
• Make selections, assign personnel, and serve as a mentor to help employees develop their full potential.
• Assistant chiefs in this assignment maintain interdepartmental relationships with other services to accomplish medical center goals as well as foster and maintain community contacts.
• Develop and initiate new assessment and treatment programs and may develop policies and procedures.
• Independently provide audiologic services at all levels of complexity and consult with peers and supervisors as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday - Tour of duty will be discussed during interview.
Compressed: Available
Telework: May be authorized.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: F07761
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Notifications:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• Current Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA Boston campuses and CBOC's.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/23/2026.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• English Language Proficiency. Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Education:
  • Doctor of Audiology (AUD) from an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) or Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). HR office staff and management officials may verify a program's accreditation from ACAE at acaeaccred.org and CAA at caa.asha.org. OR
  • Other doctoral degree in hearing science or a directly related field from an institution accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. NOTE: Effective January 1, 2007, the CAA in Audiology and Speech- Language Pathology of ASHA accredits only doctoral degree or AUD programs in audiology.
• Licensure: Individuals must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
  • Loss of Credential: Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain the required licensure of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation which may also result in separation from employment.
  • HR Office staff must appoint audiologists according to the provisions in VA Handbook, Part II, Chapter 3, Section B, paragraph 16, who have, or have ever had, their licensure revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited or issued/placed in a probationary status.
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

Grade Determinations: Supervisory Audiologist, GS-13:
Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower grade level (GS-12) and must fully meet the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
(a) Skill in determining nature, type, and severity of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders.
(b) Skill in counseling patients and family members regarding management of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders.
(c) Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional audiology to other health care professionals.
(d) Ability to independently apply professional contemporary audiologic treatments to the full range of patient populations.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) Skill in communicating established performance benchmarks to a service or equivalent organizational department.
(b) Skill in implementing continual performance improvement activities to meet performance benchmarks.
(c) Ability to perform a full scope of managerial responsibilities.
(d) Ability to lead audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and/or other professionals within associated disciplines.
(e) Ability to develop contingencies to ensure continual service operations.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: See VA Handbook 5019

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current Audiology and Speech Pathology employees of VA Boston Health Care System.
2. All other current permanent VA Boston Health Care employees.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Note: SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action. Current Federal employees, an SF-50 showing your grade & step must be submitted with your application materials. Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying grade & step. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:

• Within grade increases at the highest grade held
• Promotions with an effective date more than one year old
• SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

An incomplete application will receive a rating of IFFM (ineligible due to missing forms). Requests for reconsideration will not be considered for applicants who fail to submit a complete application package. We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software or fax transmissions.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• Full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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